Zeitoun (Arabic: الزيتون meaning olives), also al-Zeitoun, is one of the eight districts that make up the Northern Area in Cairo, Egypt.^[1] It has been made famous for its Marian apparitions at the Coptic Church of the Virgin Mary of Zeitoun during the years 1968–1971.^[2]

History

Until the First World War, the area was cultivated fields known as 'Izbet al-Zeitoun (Olive Estate), skirting the Eastern Desert just north of Cairo, and to the east of the then-new Heliopolis suburb. While Egypt was under British occupation, the Imperial School of Instruction was built there,^[3] and New Zealand troops camped in the desert during the war.^[4]

As Cairo expanded, Tawfiq Khalil Bey a real estate developer, bought land there and subdivided it into a suburb named Zeitoun. He also built a church that housed a masoleum for his father, Khalil Ibrahim Pasha, in response to an appearance of The Virgin Mary.^[5] Years later it would be known for a series of Marian apparitions.

Notable people

It was the birthplace of Fathia Nkrumah (born Fathia Rizk to a Coptic family), wife of Kwame Nkrumah, the first President of Ghana.^[6]

See also

• Zeitoun District official page
• Church of the Virgin Mary (Zeitoun)

References

30°06′18″N 31°18′37″E / 30.1050°N 31.3103°E / 30.1050; 31.3103

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